Goddess Interrupted

Goddess Test #2

by Aimee Carter

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

Genres: Mythology, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Greek Mythology, Fiction

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2012

About the author

Aimée Carter is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the author of over a dozen books, including The Goddess Test series, the Blackcoat Rebellion series, and the Simon Thorn series for middle grade readers, now a #1 international bestselling series under the title Animox. Her newest middle grade book, Curse of the Phoenix, will be released in June from Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Reviews

[Kat Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I requested Goddess Interrupted as I'd seen potential, amidst the frustration, in The Goddess Test. I thought that, given time, hard work and thoughtful application to her prose, Carter might be a good author one day.

Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen here and part of me understands why. A lot of the reviews for The Goddess Test focus on:

GAH! The mythology! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and

A VIRGIN!? A VIRGIN!? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!


A VIRGIN. I mean, I'm not getting over that any time soon!

So I appreciate Carter's efforts to address some of that a little in the novel. Well, no not really, but I'm trying really hard to be nice here.

But the underlying themes of fidelity and sexual repression were always highly problematic and they've only devolved in this novel.

We see this through the characters of Ava and Persephone who are judged and censured very heavily by the main character, Kate. Ava stays pretty firmly in the camp of irredeemable slut. As for Persephone: one moment she's the Whore of Babylon and the next she's just a selfish, confused woman. Note: Neither of these are accurate or even good characterization!

Kate says over and over that, no matter what, she would NEVER have cheated on Henry. That's nice, Kate. You're all of, what? 18? Easy to make absolutes when you're 18 and it's your first time in love. So very, very easy.

Persephone was a confused, naive girl when she was married off (didn't chose) to the Lord of the Underworld. She never loved him, she hated her job and she withered up without the sun and freedom. She stayed that way for THOUSANDS of years before finally falling in love with a man and deciding that she'd had enough of a loveless, passionless marriage. Yet everyone, even the other gods who saw her and how miserable she was, judges her as a shameless hussy.

How long does Kate last in her passionless, loveless marriage? *Pulls out fingers and toes to start counting* well, let's see. They married just before her six month vacation where she didn't see or hear from Henry. And when she gets back shit breaks out and so when she finally decides to leave him it would have been... a day. Yes. it takes her a day of actually being with Henry before she hangs up the crown and decides to ditch him.

The double standards, which exist all through this book, are aggravating.

In the the first book Ava is punished by Kate. You see, Ava had been in a relationship with one man. Then she'd ditched him and started seeing another guy. Guy #1 bursts in on guy #2 and they fight. One of them almost dies. Whose at fault? Ava. Obviously. Men can't be expected to control themselves when it comes to sex and it was CLEARLY Ava's fault for... whatever.

So we see Calliope turn evil and she does it because her husband, Zeus, has cheated on her throughout antiquity. It was really satisfying to see everyone angry and annoyed with Walter. To see him take personal responsibility for his actions and how they've affected Calliope and to see him take part in her punishment... no, wait. Sorry, none of that happens. Actually, Calliope is handed over to him so that he can punish her and and try to force her compliance. She disgusts him. Charming.

The fail, unfortunately, doesn't stop there.

We have frustrating characters, too little plot for too many novels, bad pacing, vague action scenes and feminist issues with how the main character is treated.

I could spend all day complaining about how often we had to have Kate reassured that Henry loved her, or how frustratingly annoying Henry is or how unnecessary James is as a character. About how Henry WASN'T a virgin because he'd had sex. Once with Persephone. And it was terrible. You know, I think that's actually worse than if he were a virgin...

But most of all, I'm STILL just really disappointed. Because this is still watered-down mythology and a poor excuse of a Hades/Persephone retelling. It's still a copout in so many ways and it's still thoughtless in its narrative and treatment of characters.

I won't read the next one. I think Carter's progress as a writer is limited in the world she's already built. But I do think I've seen evidence in the text that leads me to believe that she's better than this. I guess I'll have to wait until she leaves this series behind to find out if that's true.

[Diane ϟ [ Lestrange ]]

not yet read the Goddess Test,
and I might not but heres the book cover anyway:


http://novelnovice.files.wordpress.co...

quiet alluring isn't it? lol

[Rachel (The Rest Is Still Unwritten)]

Gaaaahhhh! The first one was brilliant, now i'm dying for the next one!!!!!

mar 27

[Lauren Suero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing as I just finished the book, I'm going to need time and a bottle of vodka in order to process that ending. Epic cliffhanger to rival Holly Black's 'White Cat'.

Why yes, it did take me a while to process this book.. in a good way, of course. Mostly because I really wanted to save a review until I had the chance to read 'The Goddess Hunt' (the novella before this book).

I hold a soft spot in my heart for this series. It was one of the first books I publicly reviewed (The Goddess Test) and I loved almost everything about it. Needless to say when I was given an early copy to read, I was all about 'Goddess Interrupted'.

The book was fairly consistent throughout its entirety. There were quite a few times where I wanted to strangle Kate or Henry. Their mood swings literally give me whiplash (yes, I quoted 'Twilight' there... shut up.) As we get further into the series, I hope these two can grow up and get their stuff together. :) Still love them to pieces, though.

Persephone is introduced in this novel, but only that: an introduction. We truly need to know more about her story and how it involves Kate & Henry before we can fully pass judgement on whether we want to like her as a character or not. She is essential to the storyline and I look forward to seeing this part progress.

Which leaves me with the ending. THE ENDING. THAAAAATTTTT ENDINGGGGGGG.

I have never wanted the next book so bad.. ever.

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 1 out of 5]

See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!



No, seriously. The hell? Was this fanfiction? Fanfiction of a novel which is a modern-day retelling of a Greek myth?

Where was Awesome!Kate? I looked through the ENTIRE book for her. Where was the mouthy, sassy, confident young woman of the first book and novella? Where was the verbal slapdowns? Where was her sure-footed consistency in knowing she was doing the right thing, even if the other gods didn’t believe she was? Where was my feisty girl?

Instead I was treated with a book made of 90% angst, girl hate, jealousy, more angst and girl hate, more romantic jealousy, angst, no communication, misinterpreted meanings, and angst. Did I mention the angst?



I mean, come on, I like angst in my teen fiction. It’s one of the reasons I read YA. But seriously? This novel had NO substance. It was just girls hating each other and being bitchy and Kate constantly worrying if Henry loved her and then deciding she would leave but not really because she just wanted a reaction out of Henry. Can you say ‘tease’? And some sub-plot of Cronus the Titan wanting to kill everyone. And Calliope being jealous of Kate, and Kate being jealous of Persephone, who was totally characterised as some kind of femme fatale cocktease. She’s clearly a selfish bitch, you know, because OMG SHE LEFT HENRY AND HE LOVED HER HOW COULD SHE?

Speaking of our favourite Underworld King, we were forced to endure Cold-hearted!Henry for 90% of the book. Swoon-Worthy!Henry only showed up in the last 10 %.

The last 10%.



Aimee Carter held out on giving me Henry swoons for 90% of this stupid-assed novel, and then only gave me a teeny tiny scrap of him at the end and then took him away again!

I liked The Goddess Test even though it had some huge flaws in it, but I didn’t find anything redeeming in Goddess Interrupted. It took me over a month to read it. I normally read two books a week at least. This book’s plot was slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter. Kate was thoroughly unlikeable, as was Henry. Persephone – who could have been an awesome character – was written to be Kate’s competition and therefore mostly a bitch. The characters were inconsistent with the previous novel, and there was way too much angst. I was especially angry when Carter decided the first god to give up would be Ares. You know, the god of war. I know him as this guy:



Does he really look like the kind of guy to give up on a fight?



I DIDN'T THINK SO.

Overall, I was extremely disappointed by this novel. This is my very first one star review. It took me over a month to struggle through this novel. The only reason I finished it was because I also own and would like to review the next novella and novel in the series. If I did not have these books, perhaps I would have given up on this novel and not reviewed it at all. I cannot recommend it as either good literature or an exciting, fun story. It was simply a chore, and that makes it even more disappointing because I enjoyed The Goddess Test so much.

One more Kevin Tod Smith Ares photo, OK?

[Educating Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh why oh why do I do this to myself? I read and reviewed The Goddess Test last year and was ultimately meh about the whole experience. There were just so many things I couldn't buy into. Quite frankly, a whole town created for this ONE girl (yeah, yeah, yeah I get that she was the last girl to get tested for Queen of the Underworld but STILL!)? Not to mention all of the gods and goddess running around in these constructed roles. Nope, couldn't fall hopeless in love with it even though I wanted to oh so badly!



BUT because it seemed as though everyone (and by everyone I probably mean more tweens and teens and YA Adult readers like myself) adored it so when the second in the trilogy (it IS going to be just a trilogy, yes?) became available I thought: oh what the heck; sign me up.



As I might have said to a student who I made a wrong recommendation to...my bad.



[Spoilers will continue, but very slight. Like, you can still read and be SURPRISED by the book.]



This book sorta infuriated me. Kate Winters the newest goddess and immortal to the Other-world clan has come back from her six month above-ground journey to Greece and is ready to start a new life with the surly Henry, god of the Underworld. And yet, when she returns, Henry isn't all that enthused with her arrival. At least not the level of enthusiasm that she expected. And then the creator (Chronos) of the gods has come back with the mission to terrorize and destroy. This ultimately forces Kate to bring Persephone back into the picture even though Henry is still dealing with his feelings.



And this is where I'm gonna be a Hater. As a female (and I don't think I use that card frequently), but more importantly an Experienced Female who Teaches Young Females I am annoyed with the relationship that Kate and Henry represent. Maybe Carter is trying to go for the realistic, you know, Henry was with Persephone for millions of years so even if he is married to Kate he would still have to deal with lingering feelings BUT TO A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD this just condones all of those unhealthy relationships that begin with: I'm giving him time to love me OR you just don't understand, he's going through difficult times OR EVEN WORSE he loves me in his OWN way.



Please someone stamp codependent relationship on Kate's head. Every time Henry would pull away and his family would say give him time and Kate would but she'd PINE and get SAD and then enters martyrdom I wanted to stab myself in the eyes.

So for that reason alone I couldn't enjoy the action of the story. Was that part good? I'm sure it probably was. Will someone remind me not to read the third one?

[Tina Rafii➹ lives in Fandoms · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

I liked the end
the other parts were veryyyy slow.

World building: ★★★/5
myths yes! but this world was a bit plain.
-
Characters: ★★★/5
Kate was annoying & stupid in this book (rather than the first) & she was full of doubts & I really wanted to punch her in the face!
Henry is my favourite in this series. (& Theo but his role is not much.) tho he acted weird in this book but at the end I liked him again.
-
Written style: ★★★/5
at least half of it was slow paced. but it was good in general.
-
plot: ★★/5
the plots were slow pace & boring.
-
Ending: ★★★★/5
omg! the ending was soooooooooooo good & I couldn't see that coming!
-
General idea: ★★★/5

[Ali Mohebianfar · Rating 3 out of 5]

ابعاد اساطیری بیشتری نسبت به جلد اول داشت و همین باعث می شد بیشتر ازش خوشم بیاد. پایانش هم که کلیف هنگر نسبتاً خوبی داشت و یجوری خواننده رو مجبور می کنه جلد بعد رو بخونه. شخصیت پرسفونه اینجا خیلی متفاوت از سایر ری تلینگ هاست و من واقعا دوسش داشتم. حداقل از خود کیت خفن تره😬
احتمالا توی جلد بعدی شاهد حضور باقی تایتان ها مخصوصا گایا و رئا خواهیم بود👌

[~Tina~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cronus has awoken. Calliope wants revenge. Henry is in danger and Kate Winters has to track one soul out of a billion down in the Underworld, a soul she fears she will never live up to, and ask for her help.
Persephone.

Wow! This was one hell of a sequel!!
While the first book, Goddess Test, was structured around the possible relationship between Henry and Kate, Goddess Interrupted takes things up a notch. An old evil awakens, a plot for revenge thickens and the seeds of doubt is weaved throughout the entire story.

I really have to hand it to Aimee Carter. I love the way she spin's the story of Hades and Persephone, but I also loved how she handles the other mythical players, mostly James and Ava. It's so alive, fresh and unique. But I gotta say, my emotions were all over this book. Hatred, betrayal, revenge, doubts and all consuming love tangles up in one big exasperating mess and I was conflicted the entire time but in the best way possible.

Henry and Kate have one of those maddening take two-step forwards then two-steps back relationships, and it was pretty hard to witness specially since I was having just as many doubts as Kate.
Anyone who's read the first book knows that Henry is one complicated guy. He's moody, brooding, and wears that mask of indifference better then any character I've read before. I truly couldn't figure out what he was feeling till the last few chapters, something Carter did an amazing job with.
Kate is just awesome in this book. She questions a lot about her marriage which was understandable but she's not the most patient of characters. Still, I liked how selfless she is and how far she'd go to do the right thing and how much she truly loves.
I think ya'll are gonna love Persephone! What a riveting character that adds just as much suspense and flare as the heart-pounding plot.

Bottom line, I couldn't get enough of this book. It was simply amazing. It has the most brilliant twists and turns, pure entertainment from start to finish and a romance worth waiting for.
The thing about getting to read this early is that it's going to be even more painful to wait that much longer for the final book. That ending? OMG! Evil cliffy beware!! I need The Goddess Inheritance NOW!

Fans of The Goddest Test, your in for a real treat!

(Arc provided by Netgalley and Harlequin Teen)

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Aimée Carter’s The Goddess Test last year and was disappointed in it, but saw enough potential in Carter that I was curious about the sequel, Goddess Interrupted. As it turns out, it’s better than The Goddess Test in one major way, but has problems of its own. Overall, they come out about equal and I’m giving them the same star rating.

The biggest problem with The Goddess Test was its bowdlerization of the Greek gods. Carter had rendered the gods nearly unrecognizable by making them believers in a strict Christian morality. Here, she fixes that to a large extent. The gods’ lurid histories are restored to them. It’s just that, as Aphrodite puts it, they have a tendency to be self-righteous. For this mythology geek, they’re much easier to stomach as hypocrites than as sanitized versions of themselves.

The problem, instead, is one of focus. Carter is better at writing, and more focused on, social drama than action or epic conflicts. In The Goddess Test, this intimate style works — it’s an intimate story, part romance, part country house mystery, part examination of grief. While I disliked the portrayal of the gods and the final twist, for the most part the emotional content rang true and was compelling.

In Goddess Interrupted, Carter has an opportunity to make this a more epic story, but this potential goes unrealized. Cronus, the evil Titan, has awakened and is on the verge of being freed. If he escapes, humanity is doomed and all the gods will fade. But the social drama remains the focus of the novel. There’s a lot of angst — Kate angsting about whether Hades will ever love her as much as he did Persephone; Hades angsting about both Persephone and Kate. There’s a huge amount of bickering too; characters bicker over who had affairs with whom in the past, who’s prettier than whom, and so on. I can’t complain too much about this after rejoicing in the gods being more authentic this time, of course. After all, these were the gods who started a war over a certain golden apple. The problem is balance. The Cronus threat feels secondary to these dramas.

The Cronus plot does come to the fore in the action scenes, but there are too few of these, and too much of the action is narrated to Kate and the reader after the fact. During several of the clashes, the other gods leave Kate at home because she’s underpowered. Other times, she is blocked from getting a full picture of what’s going on. For example, once she can’t see well because Cronus (in mist form) is in the way, and in another scene she loses consciousness before the battle’s outcome is decided.

Goddess Interrupted ends on a cliffhanger, yet I find I’m not dying to continue. I would be willing to read future books by Carter, but probably not in this series.

[Arooj · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am honestly dumbfounded.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!
This book was one of the biggest disappointments ever. Which is really saying a lot since I didn't have any high expectations of it in the first place.

I'm going to apologize in advance for using any harsh language, such as swearing, in this review. I rarely ever use these kinds of words, but I just can't help it right now.

What the fuck was this? This can't be the sequel to The Goddess Test...right? I don't remember much from The Goddess Test, but I did remember enjoying it somewhat. And I thought that this book would be the same, if not better. But this book...I just can't believe it. Ugh.

- The Greek mythology was BUTCHERED. Despite the fact that I like books with Greek mythology, I still don't know much about it. My knowledge of it is to a minimum. So I don't know whether all the information in this book was true. But I did not like the way that the Greek mythology was shown in this book. The main thing I disliked was how all the Gods and Goddesses apparently liked to fool around with each other, even if they were married. What? I know that the Gods have a different way of living than the humans, but I just couldn't take this seriously. Ava and James? Ok, fine. James and Persephone? HUH?! On top of all that, these Gods don't even sound like they've been alive for thousands of years. They just sounded like messed up horny teenagers to me.

- The romance? What romance? It was the most un-romantic romance I've ever read. Katy and Henry's interactions were more awkward than two strangers on a first date. And these two are supposedly "in love", married, and have even slept together once. Reading about them together was painful.

- Oh god, Katy. I really, really dislike her. She was whiny, annoying, and so damn selfish. She kept thinking about herself and how things affected her only. First of all, there's Henry. I don't understand why she loves him. He treats her like shit, yet she still tries to go after him. She feels jealous when she hears about the other girls that were tested before her, but she's the one who's lusting after other guys. In the novella that comes before this book, there was this one guy who she kept checking out over and over again, even though he was scary. Then in this book, she wanted to jump Persephone's husband Adonis's bones. And then there's James. She keeps telling him to stop going after her, yet when she hears that James slept with Persephone, she gets mad. And all this time she kept saying that "she loves Henry, and won't cheat on him". So then why does she keep getting jealous over Henry's previous girls when she keeps checking out other guys? Unlike Katy, at least he wasn't married to anyone then. Sounded like Katy just wanted every guy to like her. Secondly, there's her jealousy of Persephone. I could see why she felt like she was her replacement, but god, all that had happened BEFORE you, Katy. It has nothing to do with you. But she decides to hate Persephone anyways. Not to mention the fact that Henry will never forget Persephone. Hearing Katy constantly complain about her got really annoying fast. And lastly, I just don't understand why Katy doesn't just leave. I'm still surprised that she wasn't even mad that her whole life was a lie and that everyone lied to her. She was barely treated like a Queen because anyone refuses to tell her anything properly, Henry basically ignored her, and she was miserable. So why the hell doesn't she just leave? Leave the problems to the others Gods. It was obvious they refused to let her get involved. But she stays. Why? Because she says she loves Henry. *bangs head against wall repeatedly*

- And Henry? I hate this bastard so much. He is the biggest jerk I've EVER read. Instead of being grateful towards Katy for marrying him, thus allowing him not to fade, he just ignores her. When she comes back after six months from her vacation, does he greet her properly? No. Does he kiss her? No. Does he at least crack her a smile? NO. I don't understand this guy. He claims he loves her, but I don't believe it. Others in the books said that Henry doesn't know how to express himself properly because he's still wounded after being abandoned by Persephone, but you know what I say to that?

Bull. Shit.

The truth is that Henry is a jackass who hurts others and doesn't even give a damn for doing it because he's too busy feeling sorry for himself. You'd think that someone who was alone for thousands of years would be happy to finally fall in love again, but Henry doesn't even change at all. Which just proved to me that he didn't truly love Katy. He needs to grow a pair of fucking balls and GET OVER IT.

I had some more to say, but I give up. I can't write anymore. I'm too upset.

No way in hell am I reading the next book.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
This book moved so slowly and I felt like nothing really happened even obviously though things did. The climax of the story seemed to be dead in the center of the book and it wasn't even that climactic. If anything, the last page was the most interesting of the entire book. I feel like this book was a step down from The Goddess Test because any love that I had for any of the characters just disappeared. I really didn't care what happened to them in the end and that saddens me. Kate was so angsty in this book and pretty much imagined all of the relationship problems between her and Henry. Also, she was weirdly obsessed with Henry with only having been with him in person for six months. She was vowing that she would never look at any man the way that she looked at him and that even if they weren't gods that she would marry him in real life? Kate was so strong-willed and cool in the first book but in this book it translated to whiny and clingy.
Even though I've ranted for an entire paragraph, the last 100 pages did get a lot better and Kate and Henry finally got their priorities straightened out. I will, of course, pick up the last book, not just because I own the entire series and want to get it off of my TBR but because THAT CLIFFHANGER WAS SO CLIFFHANGERY. AGH.

[Ari Reavis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this one had the meanest cliffhanger... I mean, really? Anywho... Kate returns after her 6 months away and all hell has broken lose in the Underworld. There was a freaking love triangle and it got on my lasttttt nerve. What made it worse was that Henry wasn't confused about if he wanted Kate or Persephone.. no, he'd chosen Persephone time and time again and Kate was still trying to make Henry love her and want her. Pa- lease. I would've been out of the Underworld so fast, sleezeball Henry wouldn't have known what happened. Kate was so weak and had almost zero self-esteem the majority of the book and it really pissed me off. But I still loved it and the twists and turns. There was some violence and you basically find out all the gods sleep together and it's.. um, weird. Henry 'redeemed' himself in Kate's eyes at the very end (I'm talking 90%), but I haven't forgiven him, but based off the cliffhanger, maybe there's hope for him yet.

[Anniebananie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh Mann das war ja mal ein Schuss in den Ofen. Habe das ganze Buch über nonstop die Augen verdrehen müssen, wenn es mal ausnahmsweise nicht am Kate lag, dann an Henry.
Die grundlegende Story war auch echt eher flach und irgendwie wurde wieder alles nur so wischiwaschi aufgelöst oder gar nicht, das hat mich im ersten Band auch schon wahnsinnig gestört.
Das blöde ist jetzt einfach, dass ich die Grundidee echt gut finde/fand und es wieder mit einem äußerst äußerst blöden Cliffhanger geendet hat.
Aber so bald werde ich Band 3 wohl erstmal nicht lesen...

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was provided by the publisher Harlequin through NetGalley for an honest review with no compensation provided.

Kate is now married to Henry, as husband and wife, he fantasizes about their married life and that she’ll be happy forever. Little does she know that’s not the case. The book opens up with a ceremony to announce she is queen of the underworld. Until a surprise attack led by Cronus, King of the Titans and some of the Gods themselves get attacked. This is only the first plan out of Calliope’s evil master plan to release Cronus.

Talk about a bad ass villain! Calliope surely has it in for Kate and the others. If you looked up revenge in the dictionary her picture would be beside the definition. She surely didn’t want anyone to be with Henry and that makes her such an interesting and vivid character. Can I say I was rooting for her instead of Kate? I felt so annoyed with Kate’s whining that I had to start liking the villain instead. Page after page is her incessant whining about why she THINKS Henry doesn’t love her. And everyone else including her own mother telling her that this is just the way he is and you need to give him time.

I did however enjoy the journey in the underworld. The fact that people’s after lives are punishments they think they deserve was truly horrifying. Pitying even. All those Souls there for eternity. Only feeling pain and suffering. Aimee Carter definitely painted a realistic portrayal of hell and I applaud her.

As for the ending well, damn I think there always should be a cliffhanger ending. Why? Because it makes me want to grab the next book! A great fun read, but I could do without the annoying laments of unrequited love.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be rating this higher than I would have if I hadn't just read (and disliked) Underworld a week or so ago. Out of the two of these books, Goddess Interrupted is definitely better...in my opinion. Just thought I'd pass on that little nugget of information.

I've been desperately hoping that someone would come up with an awesome new take on the Hades/Persephone myth, which explains why I've been blowing through everything I can find that's even slightly related to their story. This series, unfortunately, is not what I was hoping for. Still, it's not awful, and I did enjoy reading it.

Our girl, Kate, has won her immortality, and is now married to Henry/Hades. The story picks up after her 6 month vacation on the surface, when Kate arrives back in the Underworld, ready to be crowned Queen.

And here's the part that I had a love/hate relationship with:
Henry is still hung up on Kate's sister, Persephone, so the entire book is basically about Kate trying to win Henry over. Call me crazy, but since you usually don't see a lot of stories that revolve around the girl trying to win the guy, I thought it was kind of cool. Except...
Well, except for that tiny (huge) voice inside of me that kept screaming at her to dump his sorry ass.

At any rate, I'm sure that I'll be reading the next book, just to see how this little soap opera plays out.

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twists, drama, betrayal, a little bit of romance and a touch of the unknown are what fans of Aimee Carter's Goddess Test series can except to find in her sequel, Goddess Interrupted. I couldn't wait to jump back into this series. I wasn't sure what to to except with this sequel, as I had a lot of unanswered questions after reading the first book in this series, and I definitely received a few answers I wanted and then some. What Aimee did with her storyline completely took me by surprised. I wasn't expecting some of the things that happened, to happen in this story. In order to keep my review spoiler free, I won't get into specifics, but I will say I loved that Aimee totally upped the game with Goddess Interrupted.

In The Goddess Test Kate won her immortality and her hand in marriage to Henry, but in this sequel we get to see just how hard that immortality is going to be for Kate. Thinking that returning back to the Underworld after months being above the surface (which was part of the agreement), Kate isn't treated with the warm welcome she expected. Instead she's greeted with chaos and a husband who's standoffish, leaving Kate to wonder if she did the right thing. There were moments during this story I wanted to thump both Henry and Kate upside their heads, not that, that would have done anything. They are immortal after all, but I seriously wanted to tell both of them to wake up and realize what they're doing and how it's effecting the other person. I started to get a little frustrated, as well as impatient with them during parts of this book, but I was rewarded for my patience with a great scene between these two, towards the end. I'll just leave it at that... *evil laugh*

Aimee surprised me with how emotionally invested I got with her book. There were times I wanted to jump in and ask the characters what the heck they were doing and other times I understood the motives behind their actions. There were a few characters who played much bigger roles in the story this time around, like Persephone. I liked getting to know her and understand her a bit more, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her as the series continues. I also liked getting to know a little bit more about the mythology and the history behind the Gods and Titans, and the role their history plays on what's happening now in this book that makes up the drama and action that take place. What surprised me the most with Goddess Interrupted were the unexpected, unpredictable plot twists that Aimee threw into her story. Wow those were good. Talk about a killer ending! I did not see that one coming.... I can not wait to get my hands on The Goddess Inheritance.

If you're a fan of The Goddess Test, I'd definitely recommend picking up Goddess Interrupted!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posted on Book Chelle.

I read Aimee Carter’s The Goddess Test last year in a few hours. Afterwards, I proceeded to read it a couple more times. Carter spoke to me through the Kate’s voice. I fell in love with the retelling and reinvention of who Henry represented, and all the emotions felt through Kate. Goddess Interrupted was a great follow-up. I laughed, I cried, and most importantly, I loved.

After a six-month vacation in Greece, Kate finally comes home to Henry. But instead of a great welcome home from Henry, Kate is greeted with troubling news. Kate travels down to the Underworld, to save Henry and everyone she loves. The journey allowed Kate to face her fears. And I definitely feel that Kate is challenged a little more in Goddess Interrupted than in The Goddess Test.

I felt the same connection with Kate then as I did now. To see someone else’s hope and dreams get crushed by a single event is heartbreaking. Not only did Kate have to face the problems of the war, but she also faced the history of Persephone. I mean to be overshadowed by a memory? Sucks! But despite what she was feeling, Kate put forth the best of herself, and sacrificed what she needed to – regardless of her fears and insecurities.

The characters evolved and I got to know them a little more. I have to say, I enjoyed the depth of character development that Carter took me to. I wasn’t expecting to be so emotionally involved with them. Sure, I felt a connection, but Carter has a way with building her characters that allowed the characters to be tangible. I was involved in every way that her characters were.

I felt that the theme for Goddess Interrupted was optimism, love, and the belief in the power of “us.” These are the same values that I felt Kate holds dear. Carter took me on a roller coaster filled with emotions. I felt a little angst, then I felt some other feelings. I loved the plot, and I appreciated the obstacles. While the Underworld isn’t something new, Carter brought a fresh approach to her version. I felt like I was discovering the Underworld right along with Kate, and it was something that I enjoyed very much.

I was sad when it ended. I was surprised at the events. I cried over and over again, and I don’t regret any minute of it. And most of all, I fell in love with Henry all over again. But don’t take my word for it. Pick it up today and fall in love with Henry and Kate.

Excuse me, I need to read this one more time.

[Natalie (Never trust a duck) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last book ended with Kate leaving Henry for the summer, going off to Greece with James. This book begins with Kate arriving back at Eden manor/Underworld, what have you. And naturally, she expects Henry to be waiting there with his arms open so she can leap into them and have one happy reunion. Maybe that's just what I wanted, but suffice to say, it didn't happen like that. In fact, there was no loving reunion when in the last book they said, and I quote, "I love you," to each other. When Henry and Kate finally reunite it's more of a "Oh hey, you're back... (awkward staring ensues and uncomfortable feelings abound." I was literally so pissed off at Henry. Literally,


Anywayyyy, Calliope, angry after the whole ordeal in the last book, captures Walter, Phillip, some other gods, and naturally, Henry as well because authors just love keeping the love interests apart in sequels. Whenever they're not together, it's just one of those moments where you're like


Kate, with the help of James and Ava and someone else you can probably guess ;), go on a trek to save there godly butts. And lemme tell you, all the separation is worth it (it's only for like the first half of the book or something like that). Definitely worth it.


So go on, go read it!!

Happy Reading!!!

[Büşra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sonu :(

[Cyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confession time: there are parts of parts of this book that I liked. And no, that wasn't a typo, I really mean "parts of parts", because it's difficult to get behind any one aspect of this novel completely. But I felt like there was an attempt, at least, to acknowledge, and even address a few of the problematic issues, and that's more than can be said for most YAPR books. Furthermore, I was thoroughly impressed by the fact that characters in this book actually had arcs.

I know, how revolutionary, right? I mean, the concept of your character growing as the book progresses? Astounding!



I really feel like Goddess Interrupted tried to have its characters learn something valuable about themselves and their perceptions of other characters, and on the one hand, I respect that.

On the other, the ending was like a sucker-punch to my girl parts, and it was kind enough to remind me of exactly why I so disliked the Goddess series in the first place.

Goddess Interrupted picks up after The Goddess Test, on the last day of Kate's six-month absence from the Underworld. She's spent the entirety of her vacation in Greece with her BFF James, and it's been fun and all, but summer is over, and it's time for Kate to come back and settle in to her life in the Underworld with doting hubby Hades - er, I mean Henry.

Except that's not exactly how it goes. Upon her return, Kate finds that Henry has regressed back to being a distant, prickly jerk. The comfort and familiarity that Kate had thought they'd reached in Goddess Test is gone, leaving her to angst endlessly about whether or not she'll ever live up to the memory of her sister, and whether her future with Henry will ever be the sunshine-and-roses bliss that she wants.

Oh yeah, and also Calliope/Hera has awoken the titan Cronus from his sleep, and his sole desire is to KILL THE GODS for their past betrayals and then destroy the world! Shenanigans!

And yes, the gods are still rolling with their boring human names, leaving me even more convinced that they're pointless and unnecessarily confusing.



This legitimately confused me for a few chapters.

At any rate, let's start with Kate, because oh my god, words cannot describe my pain. In my review of The Goddess Test, I called Kate "relentlessly self-flagellating", and that has not changed. This girl is all about punishing herself - for things that go wrong, for stupid things she did, for stupid things she didn't do, for things that aren't her fault or might be or never had anything to do with her. It seemed like every time something went wrong in her life, Kate extrapolated it into somehow being her fault. Her self-esteem throughout the book is so low, it might as well have been nega.

The thing about this is that, not only is it tedious to read about - SO MUCH ANGST, agh - but it's indicative of a larger problematic element of the story: Kate's self-esteem is inextricably tied to the way Henry feels about her.

What bothered me most about The Goddess Test was that Kate spent the entire story transferring her masochistic devotion from her mother to Henry. Likewise, the titular test was designed to get Henry to do the same. THIS IS SO UNHEALTHY. And while I would have loved for Kate, or even Henry's arc to be about overcoming this crippling co-dependency, they're not.

Kate returns from vacation in Greece cheerful and excited. She can't wait to see Henry, can't wait to pick up where they left off, and is more optimistic than we've ever seen her. Yet the moment she steps into the Underworld and Henry acts like a jerk, she's sucked into an abyss of self-doubt and fear. Her confidence plummets. She obsesses over Henry. Her every waking moment is consumed with thoughts of him, and them, and how he feels, and what he wants, and what that means for their relationship. Her self-esteem hinges on whether or not Henry loves her, and after his neglect, she spends much of the book under a never-ending cloud of agonized doom.


I think we can all agree that this isn't a healthy emotional state, and yet it's hardly even acknowledged that this could be a problem, much less challenged. Kate and Henry's romantic arc is about communication, and while I liked the maturity in exploring the idea that relationships take work and communication, and that Kate finally came around to caring about her own happiness as well as Henry's, their arc only fixes the function of their relationship, not the underlying problem. By the end of the book, it's very clear that Kate is only happy because she has allowed herself to believe that Henry truly loves her, and it's actually a PLOT ELEMENT that if Henry were to ever lose Kate, he'd dive right back in to his suicidal funk.

Nothealthynothealthynothealthynothealthy, these characters should be working on the issues that make them broken, incomplete people, not temporarily patching their holes with each other. GAHHHHHHHHHH. I mean, what does this say to the teenage girls reading it? That hinging all of your self-worth on a man is fine as long as he loves you back? That being horribly, suicidally depressed over a lover can be TOTES CURED by finding a new one? No. No. NO!

And can we just take a time out for a moment and acknowledge, once again, just how fucked up this very premise is? I know, I know, I harped on it a lot in the last review, but that was mostly about Demeter's role - what about Henry? He's the motivation for all of the shit that's going down, and you know why? Because he's so heartbroken over something that happened hundreds, if not thousands of years ago, that he's resigned to let himself die rather than get over it. He has no will to live, and no will to find will to live, EXCEPT to allow his awful, enabling-ly doting sister to prop shiny new toys in front of him in hopes of catching his interest.

The worst part is that the rest of the cast is SO QUICK to lay this at everyone's feet but his. First it's Persephone's fault for leaving him in the first place, then the burden of motivating his continued existence is unceremoniously dumped on Kate. The only reason that Kate is important to the story at all is because of Henry. He loved her, so Hera started a war; if she dies, Henry will undoubtedly spontaneously combust with grief, and there goes the entire world, because the gods can't stand up to a Titan without him.

That's another thing - I was deeply, deeply frustrated with the fact that Kate had so little to do here...

Read more at You're Killing.Us.

[Fadikuş · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOİL VAR!
Ava'nın ihaneti beni kalbimden parçaladı.

Hera doğurganlık tanrısı ve daha Kate'in bile bilmediği çocuğunu elinden aldı. Zaten mitolojide de Zeus'la birlikte olan kişilerin çocuğunu öldürdüğü yazıyordu. Şimdi de kitap ta bunu okuduk.
Sonunu güzel bitirmişler. Son sayfada olana inanamadım, kitap ve ben bir süre bakışmak zorunda kaldık.
Konusu gayet iyi ama yazar biraz daha iyi yazabilirdi.O zaman puanım daha yüksek olabilirdi.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If I were a better man, I would be able to show you the love and affection you deserve. As I am not, I can only offer you what I'm capable of giving. But I assure you, just because I do not show it, doesn't mean I do not feel it.”

Last year Aimee Carter left me astounded when I read her debut novel The Goddess Test and now Goddess Interrupted is here and she has done it yet again. Goddess Interrupted is a captivating, intriguing and magical read – one that I managed to devour in 24 hours and I’m dying for more.

Kate Winters has spent the last six months on summer vacation, away from Henry as per their arrangement. But now it’s time to go back and be crowned as Queen of the Underworld and be forever tied to Henry. There is nothing more in the world that Kate wants than to be with Henry but when Henry starts acting secretive and distant with her, she starts questioning everything she was once lead to believe. Soon she finds out that Cronus – The King of the Titans, is trying to escape his prison and he is hell bent on killing the one’s Kate cares about most. When Henry is kidnapped by Cronus, it’s down to Kate to try and rescue him but she needs help from the one person she never wanted to meet…..Persephone’s…..Henry’s ex wife. Can Kate and Henry overcome the obstacles of their relationship and can Kate keep all her loved ones safe?

Goddess Interrupted is absolutely beautiful read and I loved every minute of it. I started reading it and I honestly couldn’t put it down but I have to admit, I was a little disappointed at the start of it. After the ending in The Goddess Test, I was expecting Kate and Henry’s relationship to be completely different because they are in love with each other now. So admittedly, the first few chapters threw me because everything wasn’t all hearts and flowers between them but, what I got was something so much more. It was so raw, emotional and real – that it was so heartbreakingly good and it bought me to tears a few times. Kate and Henry’s relationship is really put through the tests during this book and I felt for both of their situations but I’m just glad they became a stronger couple for it. Their moments together at the end of the book really were a joy to read, I loved every minute of it and I think Aimee Carter did a fantastic job creating a couple that do have faults but are perfect for each other in every way.

This time around we get to know our favourite Gods all the more and I thought they all bought a level of mystery with them. Each and every one of them has two personalities; their human side and their Immortal side, and trying to unravel them was really fascinating. I especially loved getting to know Ava better and of course, Henry was the best to get to know more.

What I enjoyed about this book so much was how unpredictable it is. I honestly didn’t know what was going to come next and let me say, I am so shocked with the results….but in such a good way that I need the final book now. Honestly, the ending of the book is going to blow you’re mind and leave you speechless – yeah it’s that good!

Overall, Goddess Interrupted is just as good as The Goddess Test if not, even better! And I cannot wait to see what is next installed for us.

A huge thank you to Mira Ink for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

[cali 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧 · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

but oh my GODS the ending?!?!!!!!! homegirl is PREGNANT WHAAAAT

REVIEW TIMMEEE:

meh?

K cool this book was fine. I was really just passing the time until my copy of ACOWAR was delivered. This book is super cliche, but I'm a sucker for it. It has the worst of love triangles, so if you really don't enjoy them; stay clear.

But since I'm somebody who likes to torture herself; I indulge in way too many to say I don't "enjoy" them.

Quotes from my Kindle that I highlighted:

"'I'm surprised he hasn't turned the Dead Sea into one big keg party by now.'"

"My mother was Henry's favourite sister."

.......... idc if it technically isn't incest; this is still super weird to think.

"'He gets busy sometimes,' said Ava... 'Now, this is our closet. I even talked Henry into letting me choose your outfits...'

QUEUE ACOMAF IANTHE AND TAMLIN IGNORING FEYRE'S STRENGTH AND ABILITY FFS
(yo guys for real you may wanna check this out if you liked all that angsty stuff at the beginning but were sad bc you actually liked Tamlin before all the shit went down... Like Henry isn't nearly as bad as Tamlin; but it's something to consider...)

"Ella... had spent the first few months dressing me in the most painful fashion,"

again; a little slice of ACOMAF but way suckier (sorry to this author it's not your fault or anybody's just ACOMAF really does play this story way better)

"'-they don't see what Henry's doing to you. He's hurting you, and there's no guarantee it's ever going to get better,'"

Thanks, RHYS James.

"'Being with Henry doesn't mean you have to give up who you are. Henry doesn't define you, nor does this Underworld or immortality. You define you,'"

"No. Henry was the one who'd given up. he was the one who'd declared it over the moment he refused to touch me or treat me like his wife."

A
C
O
M
A
F

So there you go. This review is the worst. This probably doesn't help anybody.

I am totally going to read the next one, now that she's preggers.

[— Massiel · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5/5

No sé porqué antes no me di cuenta de que Kate era tan insoportable.

A decir verdad... Tengo un pequeño problema con esta trilogía, una vez que inicio un libro no puedo parar de leerlo, me pasó con el primer libro y ahora con este igual.

El trama inicia cuando Kate vuelve con James de sus seis meses de viaje alejada de Henry, a decir verdad me gustó cómo pasaba todo rápido, todo fue directo al grano y no hubo relleno en el libro, además de que se explican más sobre los mitos -cosa que me gusto bastante- pero no de los titanes -cosa que me saco más de quicio-, una cosa que no me gusto para nada del libro fue Kate se hizo más insoportable en cada capítulo, se echaba la culpa una tras otra vez en cada situación, y más que nada me molestaba lo tanto que fastidiaba a Henry con cosas y exigiendo cuando no había hecho nada. ¿Lo peor aún? No dejaba de llorar.

Otro punto negativo fue que se centro demasiado en James, Henry y Kate resumido: Kate estando casada con Henry, pero pensando en pegarles los cuernos con James.

¿En serio, Kate? ¿Qué carajos?


Aún así todo pasó muy rápido y los últimos capítulos fueron lentos pero apreciados para mejor y hacer del último capítulo el menos esperado. Otro personaje que llego nuevo fue Perséfone, la única cosa positiva fue que me gusto mucho más que Kate.

Un libro rápido de leer, trama increíble y fácil además de que intriga pero lo único que daña todo esto son sus personajes y cómo se mezclan en la historia.

No espero para terminar con el último libro The Goddess Inheritance.

PD: Lectura en conjunto con Majo, Cande e Izzy. En serio chicas, amo leer libros con ustedes.

[Caz (littlebookowl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original review from Little Book Owl

Full video review found here: Youtube

Goddess Interrupted was a fast paced, adventurous installment to the series. The stakes were so much higher, giving way to drama and action. We delved deeper into the Greek mythology, taking a look at the Gods, the Titans and exploring the Underworld.

Calliope's character development was a strong point in the story; she has become a great villain. Her hatred for Kate is understandable, yet she goes to the extremes in her revenge. It is interesting to see how things pan out.

Kate, Henry and their romance weren't as strong as in The Goddess Test. Kate constantly questioned Henry's love for her, yet everyone reassured her time and time again. Although she thought too much about this, which could get a little frustrating at times, she was still as strong a character.
Henry is a little distant again. I am still a little unsure on how I feel about him.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Goddess Interrupted. The plot has picked up, and although some of the character traits and the romance were sometimes not as great, I had fun learning more about them. If you didn't like The Goddess Test so much, I would recommend you try the sequel!

Review copy provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Alja Katuin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can I just start with saying that I'm só glad that the whole ' He doesn't show me that he loves me' crap is over? I'm gonna be such a happy reader after I finished this review and started reading the last book.
I absolutely adore the way Aimee Carter writes out all the Greek gods. It makes mythology so much easier to understand for someone who has little to no information about the Greek gods. I found it more than interesting to see how Kate handled Persephone. her attitude, I love love love it!

to the next book we go!


2019- First book that made me read through a night in what? Two years? Damn.

[Pam Pho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss @aimee_carter WHAT KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT!? Love this series. Full review closer to release date.

[Wolf (Alpha) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[Em · Rating 1 out of 5]

I died and went to simple bitch hell. My greek gods have been Cullen-ified. da fuq, bruh?

With all of the positive reviews people are giving this book, I have to wonder if I read the same book as everyone else, or if I just got a copy whose cover had been swapped. The first book was just as bad as this one, but I love mythology and I thought the concept was interesting, so I picked up this one--even though I knew it was going to be bad, I tried to give Ms. Carter a chance. but, no. This was just as bad as The Goddess Test.
First of all, you can whittle down your vampires until they're nothing but hollow bones, but you don't get to f--k up my mythology. I love mythology. I love being, both, in awe, and in terror, of Hera, and I love that Hades is who he has to be. One of the awesome things about being a god is that YOU get to make the rules. I read this, and I was, not only disappointed, but angry. Because if you're going to write about mythology--about Hades and Persephone, especially, you DON'T turn them into angst-ridden, broody lovebirds and totally disregard the fact that Persephone was kidnapped. I am so angry right now that I can barely even type.
WTF IS THIS BOOK? I DO NOT WANT. I WANTED GREEK MYTHOLOGY. I WANTED THE OPPOSITE OF WHATEVER THE HELL THIS IS.

A VIRGIN? REALLY? You made the god of the underworld, Hades, who has been alive for EONS, a twenty-something year old virgin? Ms. Carter, do you know nothing of greek mythology?

OH, and this tortured lovers thing is played out. Especially since Kate needs to hate on other girls. Ava liked sex, and Persephone fell in love with a man who DIDN'T kidnap/rape her (I know, girls are shocking like that, loving guys who aren't totally douchebags), and Kate thinks that because she is a virgin she is better than them, and this makes them wanton whores? I was so not digging the girl-on-girl hate here. I love conflict in interpersonal relationships, but you need to do better than "this girl hates me because her boyfriend likes me more because I've never had sex with anyone before him" bull, alright? it's not cool, not new, not fresh.

Oh, wow, it's the second book, and Kate is still using childish euphemisms for sex. are you kidding me, right now? It's a three-letter word. If you're going to be sleeping with someone, you should probably not be afraid to use the word "sex". Just, ugh. It didn't make me think of her as "chaste", or "beautiful", or "priceless", it just infantilized her and reminded me of how young she is, compared to the eons-old Henry. Stop it. No me gusta. Do not want. Christianity and mythology do not mix well, here. You want to tell me that Chronos is here to avenge his baby girl because the guy she loves doesn't love her back? You want to tell me that Kate is better than any other girl there because she's still a virgin? F--k that noise.

This book is pretty much Twi-lite, with mythology, which pisses me off. You f'd up my mythology. Aimee Carter, stop.

Also, could anyone have picked crappier names? Zeus is "Walter"? Hades is "Henry"? What the hell? They are greek GODS, not your friendly neighborhood accountant.

I'm just...this book is so bad. I just can't, right now.

I have lost the ability to can.